National Incident Management System command structure and event response overview

National Incident Management Systems

Duty Responsibilities of Commander

National Incident Management System (NIMS) (PART 1)

As the commander of the National Management System (NIMS), I have viewed the situation in a considerable amount of attention. The situation at hand needs to be carefully monitored and put into effect a counteractive method of operation. I and my unit's mission are to conduct this operation in the best way possible in order to rescue the hostages and apprehend the said terrorists who have no place in this kind of our society.

The NIMS occasionally deals with domestic incidents, but the situation at hand involves terrorists and Israeli citizens making this event a matter of international interest. My command structure will have the incident command system (ICS) which comprises of five major functional areas, the command, operations, logistics and finance/administration. The situation at hand being a complex situation has led to the need of other separate functional sections. All these functional sections will have several units. The following is the command structure that will be put in place.

To have a successful mission, the communications and information management section will be put in place under the command. This unit will require those emergency management/response personnel and their affiliated organizations to use standardized communications types. There is a Strategic Communication unit which will deal with High-level directions; including resource priority decisions, roles and responsibilities. Determinations, and overall incident response courses of action under this section we will also have a Tactical Communications unit which will facilitate communication amid command and support elements cooperating firms and agencies. We will also have another unit for Public address Communications. He will give Emergency alerts and warnings; he will also deal with press conferences.

The communications unit will also deal with international dealings in this case, the Israeli government and other countries that will be of interest to this event. The command will also have command staffs under him who will coordinate operations in their various allocated areas. Under the command, we will also have the public officer the liaison officer and the safety officer; these officers will be responsible with the duties that they will be assigned to. The public officer will majorly be responsible for information control especially to the public, the media, the government and the international community.

The safety officer will also be there to secure places from the public for security reasons. The liaison officer will monitor the incident operations to identify current or potential problems between organizations within the NIMS. Coordination is vital in the event that the liaison officer facilitates direct contact with the organizations. Similarly, I will incorporate the government, the private sector, the local government, in this case the governor of Illinois and non-governmental organizations to get all the support needed for a successful mission.

The command structure under the ICS will also have the operations, the logistics and finance and administration sections. The operations section also known as the planning section will be pivotal on the ground. As a unit, we will have a coordinating team which includes other organizations. We want to make sure that every area targeted for this rescue mission involves all legal parties with the same agenda and of maximum capabilities. Under the operational section, we will put in place two branches and two units under each branch. Every branch will have sub-chief's who will be answerable to the operations chief. I also want to include an air operations commander who in conjunction with the staff put under him, will coordinate with the logistics section in communication, supply, medical and ground support assistance. This is where we will need the police and if necessary the army to be located in strategic points around the building with total secrecy, even from the media. The Resources Unit under this section will ascertain that all personnel and resources are incidental at the time of need. This particular unit will offset teams, crews, aircraft, and equipment during the incident. As a trained commander, I will instill the notion that the resources unit maintains a tracking system of the current location of incidence and resources status and the list as well as a list of incidental operations done according to resource utility (Walsh et al., 2005). Resources ought to be categorized by capacity and capability type. In addition, resource status must tagged continuously to their efficient management. I will also have a traffic operations officer who will be placed under the operations section to deal with traffic control of the targeted area. He will also ensure that plans are underway for a smooth transition of transport if a demand arises from the terrorists. In addition, a finance and administration section unit will be obligated to counter the demands that may arise if money becomes the negotiable point of interest would be set up. This unit in coordination with the communications unit will facilitate payment demands. The logistics will be much needed in providing sufficient facilities in to the incident command; it will be responsible for transportation, supplies, food, communication and technological support.